The game was first seen on May 11, 2008 when a low-resolution cell-phone picture of an upcoming issue of CoroCoro magazine was leaked around the Internet. On May 15, the magazine was officially released and the game was also officially confirmed by Nintendo. The game was released in Japan on September 13, 2008, in North America on March 22, 2009, in Australia on May 14, 2009, in Europe on May 22, 2009, and in Korea on July 2, 2009.

Like previous third versions, the region and starting area remain the same as in previously released paired versions; in Platinum, the player begins his or her journey from Twinleaf Town and travels across all of Sinnoh.

Plot

When the game begins, the player is watching a newscast about Professor Rowan's return to Sinnoh. Just then, the player's best friend runs in, and the two head for Route 201 to get a Pokemon from Professor Rowan. However, Rowan sees them and reprimands them for endangering themselves. His assistant (Lucas or Dawn, depending on the player's gender) comes along, and Rowan lets the player and Barry each choose among a Turtwig, Piplup, or Chimchar. After choosing, Barry, who later becomes the rival, challenges the player to a battle, having picked the Pokémon with the type advantage over the player's choice. After the battle, the two head to Lake Verity, where they meet Cyrus. Back in Twinleaf Town the player's mother gives him or her a pair of Running Shoes before the player leaves for Sandgem Town. The professor gives the player a Pokédex and the player then sets off to explore Sinnoh and defeat the Gym Leaders in order to advance further in the plot, challenge the Elite Four, and become the Champion of Sinnoh.

After facing off against Cyrus, the player is then forced into a battle with the Giratina.
After the battle Cyrus, disappears, and the player heads to Sunnyshore City to take on the final gym leader, Volkner. Jasmine, whom the player meets there, gives HM07 after the gym battle, and the player heads to Victory Road, and after the final.battle against the friend and rival, faces the Elite Four, Aaron, Bertha, Flint, and Lucian. After which, the player faces Cynthia the champion.

After the player defeats the Elite Four, there are further activities to pursue. These mainly concern the capture of previously unavailable Pokémon, extra features such as the Poké Radar, exploration of previously inaccessible places such as the Fight, Survival, and Resort Areas and the perfection of battle skills in the Battle Tower. At the survival Zone, the player will help Looker finish off Team Galactic by arresting Charon.

Blurb

Another world has emerged in the Sinnoh region......A world where time and space are altered! Catch, train, and battle your favorite Pokémon, and discover ancient, mythical Pokémon in this exciting new adventure!

Changes from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Gameplay

The Wi-Fi area has been enhanced with the Wi-Fi Plaza, which supports up to 20 people at a time. The new area seems to focus exclusively on mini-games, which include Wobbuffet Pop, where players hit a Wobbuffet, Mime Jr. Top, where players can balance Mime Jr. on a ball and Swalot Plop where players throw Berries at a Swalot machine.

The Global Trade System has incorporated an e-mail system that allows players to be notified of completed trades. Notification messages are sent to the player's e-mail account, which can be viewed through the player's PC, mobile phone, or Wii system.

In non-Japanese versions, however, the system was downgraded to Wii messaging only. Thus, in these versions, notification messages are sent and must be viewed through the Wii's Message Board.

The Sinnoh starters and their evolutions are now allowed in an expanded Amity Square, making a total of 20 Pokémon allowed in the Square.

Over local wireless, there is a new feature called Spin Trade where the player and their friends can put their Pokémon Eggs in and randomly swap. Trainers that obtain Eggs that land on the Bonus Area, the spotted ones, get a Berry too.

The player can now challenge other Trainers in certain Pokémon Centers. The Trainer(s) are located in front of the desk. These Trainers change location every day.

During a Trainerbattle when the opponent Trainer is about to send out his (or her) next Pokémon the message has changed from "Will <the player> change Pokémon?" in all games up to Diamond and Pearl to "Will you switch your Pokémon?". This was kept in subsequent core series games.

The game's speed with some features is faster compared to Diamond and Pearl, particularly while surfing and during battles. However, the player still walks slower than in Generation III. The frame rate of Platinum remains 30 frames per second (FPS).

European versions of the game are no longer able to play slot machines. These versions of the game replace slot machines with game machines, a machine that simply gives coins to the player with little interactivity. This is the result of changes in the classification standards at PEGI[6].

As in Generations II and III, it is possible to ride a Bicycle in gatehouses separating cities or towns and routes, something that was not possible in Diamond and Pearl.

When the player uses his or her radar while in the Underground, it takes two seconds before another radar signal can be used. In Diamond and Pearl, it only took one second.

The Lustrous and Adamant Orbs are no longer found on the Spear Pillar as in Diamond and Pearl, instead they must be found in a cave somewhere in the snowfields of Mt. Coronet which requires Waterfall. To be able to catch Dialga and Palkia, the player must have obtained the items in that cave and must have faced Giratina, whether it was caught or not. Then the player can go up Mt. Coronet to where Giratina took the player and Cyrus in to the Distortion World.

The level progression of the average opponent's Pokémon has been increased. An example of this is that in Diamond and Pearl, Barry's starter Pokémon in the battle at Pastoria City is at level 28. In Platinum, it is at level 36. Almost every Trainer's roster in the game has had their levels increased by at least one. However, the Elite Four's Pokémon have been lowered by four levels the first time the player faces them.

In locations where certain unevolved Pokémon can be found (like Numel on Route 227 and Stark Mountain), they are near the levels of the rest of the Pokémon in the area, whereas in Diamond and Pearl they were usually in the high 10s or low 20s.

Obtainable Pokémon

59 more Pokémon have been added to the Sinnoh Pokédex to give it a grand total of 210 entries, with all non-Legendary Pokémon introduced in Generation IV now included, along with their pre-evolved forms and several other Pokémon. The added Pokémon, such as Rotom and Giratina, are now available prior to the Elite Four challenge.

Giratina has received a new Forme known as the Origin Forme, with its previous Forme named the Altered Forme. Giratina will appear in Origin Forme while in the Distortion World, and in Altered Forme outside. A Griseous Orb is required to transform it to its Origin Forme outside of the Distortion World.

The Ability of Origin Forme is Levitate and its base stats mirror those of Altered Forme, with the offensive stats switched with their respective defensive stats.

Shaymin is able to change between its two forms via the use of the Gracidea. Its Sky Forme will revert to Land Forme at night, if Shaymin is frozen, or when deposited into the PC.

Rotom has new forms as well. Each of the five forms is a Rotom that has possessed an electrical appliance. Despite having visual characteristics of other types, the five forms share the original Rotom's Electric and Ghost types; however, their base stats are significantly higher. They also share the original Rotom's Ability of Levitate. The item to unlock these Pokémon in the game, the Secret Key, is an event-only item. As these Pokémon are not normally available in this game, they were therefore banned from official tournaments[citation needed] until the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver which allowed Rotom to transform without the requirement of an event-only item.

Eterna City has been refurbished with new foliage and pathways. Also the Team Galactic Eterna Building has had a complete redesign, inside and out. It now contains a secret room where Rotom can switch between its forms.

Cycling Road has been redesigned and now has tunnel-like shelters in the middle of the Cycle Route, as well as lights along the sides of it.

Amity Square has been completely remodeled. It now includes a small pond, more paths and more upper levels. The old buildings that previously inhabited Amity Square now contain Warp Panels which transport the player to the other old buildings within Amity Square.

Lost Tower has had its color scheme changed and now has fog on three of its five floors, which can be cleared by HM05 (Defog).

Pastoria City's houses have been remodeled and now also includes a board with a Croagunk on it which is located in front of the Great Marsh. Occasionally, if the player stands behind the Croagunk Wall with the player's head sticking out of it, a wild Croagunk will come, but it will just cry and walk into the Great Marsh building.

The Great Marsh has had its color scheme changed and has also had foliage changed and added.

The area of water to the south of Snowpoint City where the player can get a boat to the Battle Zone now contains a small amount of icebergs. These can also be seen in the ocean when the boat is crossing to the Battle Zone. The boat has also been redesigned, most likely due to the icebergs in the sea.

Instead of being attacked by wild Pokémon at Verity Lakefront, the player and his/her rival are attempting to reach Sandgem Town through tall grass when the Professor stops them and offers them a starter.

The first battle is against the player's rival, who, as always, has chosen the starter Pokémon which has a type advantage against the player's.

The player and the rival now encounter Cyrus at Lake Verity at the start of the game. The player can also meet Cyrus at different venues such as the Eterna City statue.

A new area known as the Distortion World is playable. It has floor-like sections floating at ninety-degree angles from each other, creating an effect similar to the art of M. C. Escher. It disobeys the laws of physics, making things like Surfing down a waterfall going up possible. The camera angle switches between perspective and isometric views to suit the angle of the player. It also has moving platforms with jumpable gaps between them. Giratina, when here, will be in its Origin Forme and is also the only wild Pokémon located here.

Two new characters to the main storyline were added. One is Charon, a professor and Commander of Team Galactic, and the other is a police officer spying on Team Galactic, using the codename "Looker".

A Tag Battle between the player and his or her rival against Flint and Volkner takes place at the entrance to the Battle Frontier when the player first arrives there.

Team Galactic's plans to re-create the world have changed slightly. The layouts of their HQs, such as the one in Eterna, have been changed. Team Galactic now utilizes more resources in order to reach their goal, as well as explaining why, in-game, such as the power from the Valley Windworks, as well as planting a bomb on the Great Marsh for attention in order to allow more people to realize what they're trying to do. Team Galactic also has a fourth commander who appears throughout the game, but does not take on a significant role until after the main story events.

Some of the Gym Leaders have been reordered: Fantina is now the third Gym Leader, Maylene is the fourth and Crasher Wake is the fifth. The appearance of players' Gym Badge case stays the same.

Team Galactic appears in Stark Mountain under the command of Charon, who seeks to use the destructive power of the volcano to extort money from the people of Sinnoh. The player, with help from Buck, must defeat them. During this event, Mars and Jupiter quit Team Galactic because Charon does not share the same ideals as ex-boss Cyrus. Ultimately, Charon and his two accompanying grunts are apprehended by Looker and two policemen.

After the aforementioned event, the player is able to challenge all the Gym Leaders of Sinnoh to rematches in the Battleground. The player's Tag Battle partners from throughout the game (Cheryl, Buck, Marley, Mira, and Riley) are also able to be challenged in this place. Each of the 13 characters has a team of five Pokémon, whose levels are between 61 and 65 (except for Maylene, whose team instead ranges from level 62 to 66).

The Elite Four increase their Pokémon's levels after the player has completed the Stark Mountain event. Their levels are now between 65 and 78.

When one finishes the Stark Mountain quest, instead of the rival appearing at the Fight Area on weekends, he now appears at the Survival Area in front of the Battleground. During the first battle, the levels of the Pokémon in his party range from 59-65, second battle 69-75, and third and beyond 79-85. In these last battles, he was the Trainer with the highest-leveled Pokémon in all core series games, until Red's remade team in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

When first visiting the Resort Area, the player receives a Villa. Inside on a table is a catalog that lists items that can be purchased to furnish the house in the same manner as decorating a secret base. The player will be visited by NPCs such as the Sinnoh Gym Leaders, the player's mother, Professor Rowan, and the rival.

Graphics

Lucas, Dawn, and Barry have different outfits designed for colder weather, as the entire Sinnoh region has changed in temperature.

The player's house now has wallpaper in their room.

The template for the level, HP, and name of Pokémon in battle is a dark gray instead of white, and its shape has changed.

The Pokétch has been redesigned. Players can now move up and down between apps instead of having to go through all of them to return to a previous one.

When Pokémon are sent out from their Poké Balls, their back sprites now animate much like their front sprites have since Emerald (i.e., multiple frames of animation in addition to the various distortions and filters already used).

Closeups of Gym Leaders, just before a battle, have been changed from enlarged sprites to higher-quality drawings and the terms VS; the Frontier Brains also have this feature. The Elite Four have this as well, but the animation includes the player on the left side of the "VS." and the Elite Four member on the right side.

The rooms where the player battle the Elite Four have been redesigned. Aaron now has logs and foliage in his room. Bertha now has rocks in her room. Flint now has lava pits in his room. Lucian's room has only had minor changes to now include four large lights or glowing orbs on the floor. Cynthia's room has changed its color scheme and the lift leading up to the Hall of Fame is now partially contained. The Pokémon Center at the Elite Four has also been redesigned.

When the player starts the battle with the Giratina in the Distortion World, instead of displaying "A wild GIRATINA appeared!", it displays "The Distortion World's GIRATINA appeared!". It is referred to as "the wild GIRATINA" in other instances, such as attacking, however.

The trees in West Sinnoh have sharper angles and a point at the top, compared to rounded branches and a rounded top in Diamond and Pearl, and are also slightly darker. The trees in East Sinnoh are also slightly darker, but are now a completely different hue than the trees in West Sinnoh, and are more rounded than in Diamond and Pearl, while the Battle Zone has completely new trees altogether.

The battle menu was redesigned.

When Spiritomb appears in the wild or comes out of a Trainer's Poké Ball, the Odd Keystone is seen for a few seconds in its battle animation.

Sound

Giratina's cry will be heard when "Start" or "A" are pressed at the title screen, unlike in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl which just play a snippet of the title theme's melody. It shares this trait with some other games.

Reception

Gaming magazine Famitsu gave Pokémon Platinum a score of 36 out of 40. IGN gave the game a "Great" score with an 8.8 out of 10 stating that, "Yes, it's still good. Even two years later."[7] It holds a rating of 83.33% on GameRankings, based on 36 reviews.[8]

Sales

In the fiscal year of its release, it sold 3.75 million units.[9] As of March 31, 2010, Pokémon Platinum has sold 7.06 million copies worldwide.[10]

Japanese sales

Pokémon Platinum sold 963,273 units on its first week on the Japanese market.

Like Diamond and Pearl, the issue with Korean characters remains: non-Korean versions of Generation IV games did not include a way to view Korean characters, and therefore Korean versions of any Generation IV game can't normally trade with any non-Korean game. If a Pokémon with a Korean name or Korean Trainer name was somehow traded to a non-Korean game, the data for their name would be converted to something else. In Diamond and Pearl, empty spaces were used in lieu of Korean characters. However, Platinum—and subsequently HeartGold and SoulSilver—show dashes instead; this is likely to prevent any issues that may come from a completely blank name.

Staff

Music

The soundtrack contains all of the background music used in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (the basis for a majority of the music in Pokémon Platinum). However, the soundtrack does not include the remastered title theme music from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire or the other unused music, all of which are present in the internal data of Diamond and Pearl, as well as Platinum.

Several music tracks exclusive to Platinum went officially unreleased until 2012, when they were included with the official soundtrack of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. These Platinum-exclusive tracks comprise tracks 17-48 of Disc 4 of the soundtrack.

Gallery

Japanese logo

English logo

Korean logo

Beta elements

Errors

Normally, when the player picks up an item on the ground, it disappears and the message saying "[Player] received a(n)/the [item]" displays. However, when the player approaches the Poké Ball containing the Griseous Orb, it displays "<Player> received a Griseous Orb!" before it disappears. This mistake was corrected in the localizations. This oversight also occurs in the Turnback Cave with the item in the last room by the portal in every release of the game.

Trivia

The instruction manual included with the game claims there are 493 Pokémon to be discovered. However, the game was released before Arceus, the 493rd Pokémon, was officially revealed.

This is the first game where the player can battle an NPC in a Pokémon Center.